Stinson, coach of the Williams Lake Gymnastics Club, travelled with the Cariboo-North East team as a coach. He said the Games were a great opportunity for Bettles to showcase his improved skills, and added an eighth-place finish against gymnasts of that calibre is impressive.

“His scores went up quite a bit this year,” Stinson said. “Last year there was a bit of a learning curve for us [at the club] with it being my first year back coaching with the boys, but I also pulled it all together for them and pointed them in a new direction.

“There were a lot of things they were doing that were new to them last year so it was tough. When you transition in our sport it’s a big transition.”

Stinson said competing at the Games was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Bettles, as male gymnasts are only allowed one year of eligibility at the event.

Klaue, a Williams Lake Judo Club Member for the past five years, tossed his way to a silver medal as part of the Cariboo-North East zone.

Both his singles matches were lost partly due to a bit of bad luck, he added.

“I threw [my opponents] both times but somehow they got the point,” Klaue said, noting points are scored in judo by throwing your opponents shoulders to the mat.

He said a Japanese martial arts term called a kiai — essentially a yell — signals to the referee you are attacking.

“If I had kiai’d I think I would have got it,” he said. “Both throws were sacrifice throws where we both ended up on the ground so I needed to let the referee know with a kiai.”

That said, Klaue was quite pleased with quality of his silver medal.

“It’s pretty much as shiny as my bathroom mirror,” he joked.

“It’s very cool.”

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